# Chapter 99
“Hurry up!”
All the ability users, except for the Espers who had been rendered unable to fight, were moving busily. They needed to chase after the disappeared Geonwoo. His destination was obvious. It would be where he could sense Dohyun’s energy.
The south entrance!
Everyone headed there. Jiwoon was also among them.
Jiwoon was still clutching his chest with his hand, his eyes furrowed as if his recent injury was more serious than expected. Minhun was supporting him.
“Guide Yoo Jiwoon, I think you should get treatment first!”
Worried eyes turned toward Yoo Jiwoon. Without realizing it himself, Minhun was anxious as if his own Guide had been harmed. Regardless of Choi Geonwoo or whatever, Minhun’s expression showed that he wanted to take Yoo Jiwoon to a safe place right away.
Looking at Minhun, Jiwoon gave a formal smile.
“I’m fine, let’s hurry.”
“But…!”
Minhun looked down at Jiwoon as he opened his mouth.
But Jiwoon couldn’t hear his words. Right now, Jiwoon’s mind was completely filled with Choi Geonwoo. He hadn’t expected things to be easy, but he didn’t think Choi Geonwoo would treat him like this.
‘I thought there would be some reaction since he’s in a state with insufficient guiding energy.’
It was an arrogant thought.
Jiwoon bit his lower lip without others noticing as he continued walking. His brow furrowed slightly at the pain he felt in his chest area.
Seeing this, Minhun blocked Jiwoon’s path.
“This won’t do. Your injury first…!”
Just as Minhun was about to continue, Jiwoon’s fingertips touched his hand.
“Esper Lee Minhun.”
Jiwoon called out to Minhun affectionately, then grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. Their bodies came closer together. In that state, Jiwoon whispered quietly, just loud enough for only Minhun to hear.
“Don’t get above yourself.”
But the voice that reached his ear was so different from just moments ago. It was ice cold. Moreover, the words that came from Jiwoon’s mouth shocked Minhun.
“You just need to follow what I say. Not act like you’ve become my Esper.”
A condescending tone. And eyes that seemed to look down on him endlessly. It was a side of Yoo Jiwoon that Minhun had never seen before. He had always been someone who just smiled kindly…
Confusion clouded Minhun’s face at this unfamiliar side of Jiwoon.
But soon, due to the guiding energy transmitted through his hand, those thoughts were erased completely. Minhun couldn’t think of anything. His focus gradually blurred.
Looking at Minhun like that, Jiwoon stepped back, and with his usual bright smile back on his lips, said in a voice that was once again affectionate:
“Understood?”
Minhun nodded at the question. But there was already no will in his eyes.
“And don’t forget what I told you then.”
He couldn’t ask what Jiwoon meant, unable to recognize the statement.
Minhun just blankly nodded once more, without even being aware of it himself. While feeling a very small weight in his pocket.
***
“…!”
The Esper ability control device Dohyun had been wearing tumbled to the floor. Blood was splattered around it. It was Dohyun’s blood. The alpha of the wolf-type monsters had recognized Jaehee as prey and immediately lunged at them.
Grrrrrr-!
The wolf leader bit Dohyun’s arm and growled fiercely. With killing intent, it glared at Dohyun as if it would kill him for hiding its prey.
Dohyun stopped the wolf’s movement with his telekinesis. He used his telekinesis to block the sharp teeth digging into his skin. But the wolf leader didn’t back down. Despite being restrained by telekinesis, it held on, putting force on its teeth as if trying to sever Dohyun’s arm.
Grrr! Woof woof!
Meanwhile, other wolf-type monsters surrounded Dohyun, looking for an opening to attack. Dohyun took in each of these monsters with his eyes.
Just moments ago, it had happened in an instant. The wolf leader had targeted Jaehee and lunged at him. If Dohyun hadn’t removed the control device and responded, Jaehee would certainly have been injured. So he had no regrets about choosing to remove the control device.
However, the price of that action was high.
“Damn it!”
Dohyun’s eyes twitched slightly. He could feel Choi Geonwoo, who should have been confronting the Espers in the east, approaching at a rapid pace. This meant that even though Geonwoo had limited his power while fighting, the Espers had completely failed to block his path.
In the end, despite mobilizing all the forces in the Center, they were no match for him.
A dark shadow fell over Dohyun’s face. His teeth ground together at the irreversible difference in power. At the same time, tension filled his entire body with the anxiety that Jaehee might be taken from him.
But soon, Dohyun shook his head as if trying to come to his senses. There was no time to linger.
‘Hurry, we need to get out of here.’
That was the only path left now. Dohyun quickly surveyed his surroundings, taking in all of the wolf pack with his eyes. There were many of them. He needed to reduce their numbers one by one. Normally, that’s what he would have done. But now there was no time for that.
“I don’t intend to waste time, so come all at once.”
Dohyun pulled Jaehee closer into his arms protectively and drew up the power within his body. He deliberately created an opening to let the wolves attack. The wolves, which had been waiting for a chance to attack, immediately lunged forward with killing intent.
Woof, wooof-!
But the fight between Dohyun and the wolves wasn’t as long as expected. Despite it being many against one, it became a one-sided fight.
“What is this…?”
The one surprised by this was Dohyun himself. He could use his abilities much more freely than usual. It felt like the limit of his ability usage had increased.
‘Is it because of the guiding I received from Yoo Jiwoon?’
He knew that while he was unconscious and receiving treatment, he had received guiding energy from S-class Guide Yoo Jiwoon to the point of overflowing. He couldn’t help but know this because he had felt Jiwoon’s guiding energy all over his body when he woke up.
But that and combat were separate matters. He only realized it after using his abilities. Espers always carry the risk of going berserk, so they don’t use abilities beyond a certain level, but now that limit felt blurred.
“…Ugh!”
But at the same time, a headache hit him like his head was about to split. Even though all his bodily injuries had been healed, why? He couldn’t understand the reason. Dohyun fiercely furrowed his brow.
But Dohyun soon ignored the headache and quickened his pace. Choi Geonwoo’s energy was getting closer and closer. It was moving at a speed that was hard to believe he was limiting his abilities for fear of going berserk. Now there wasn’t much distance left. Dohyun immediately picked up the control device that had fallen to the ground and dashed toward the south entrance.
Fortunately, he could sense that numerous Espers were chasing after Choi Geonwoo. Please, he desperately prayed that they would buy him time. That they would create a gap so that Jaehee and he, wearing control devices, could escape beyond the area Choi Geonwoo could detect.
If they could get beyond a certain distance while wearing control devices where Choi Geonwoo could detect them, and then blend in among people and continue to flee, it wouldn’t be easy to find them.
Moreover, in Jaehee’s case, the amount of guiding energy remaining in his body was also significantly reduced. In this state, with the control device on, no one would be able to find Jaehee unless they were at a very close distance. And that would be the same for Choi Geonwoo.
With those thoughts, just as Dohyun was about to cross the entrance.
“…!”
Suddenly, a massive wavelength scattered around them.
Simultaneously, with a creaking sound, the metal structures around the south entrance distorted all at once. But that wasn’t all. Tree trunks wrapped around the surroundings, completely blocking the entrance.
“Damn it!”
It was a close call. Dohyun immediately looked back. Somehow, Choi Geonwoo had approached nearby. His gaze was fixed on Jaehee in Dohyun’s arms.
“Guide.”
An affectionate voice calling for Jaehee echoed. Choi Geonwoo had a gentle smile on his face, perhaps relieved to have found Jaehee.
But that was only for a moment. As Dohyun stepped back with Jaehee in his arms, Geonwoo’s smile instantly faded. Instead, a cold chill settled in his eyes.
The distance between Choi Geonwoo and Kang Dohyun was now only a few meters.
